Gay nightclubs up security spending following Orlando shooting

Since Orlando shooting, some owners have hired more armed guards

By Malachi Petersen, Staff Writer

June 20, 2016Updated: June 20, 2016 7:56pm

Photo: BRITTANY GREESON /San Antonio Express-News

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Officer Jessica Potter of the Bear County Protective Services stands by at the entrance of the Bonham Exchange in downtown San Antonio, on Thursday, June 16, 2016. The gay nightclub is increasing its security in the wake of mass shooting in Orlando last weekend. less

Officer Jessica Potter of the Bear County Protective Services stands by at the entrance of the Bonham Exchange in downtown San Antonio, on Thursday, June 16, 2016. The gay nightclub is increasing its security ... more

Photo: BRITTANY GREESON /San Antonio Express-News

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Officer Jessica Potter of the Bexar County Protective Services stands by at the entrance of the Bonham Exchange in downtown San Antonio, on Thursday, June 16, 2016. The gay nightclub is increasing its security in the wake of mass shooting in Orlando last weekend. less

Officer Jessica Potter of the Bexar County Protective Services stands by at the entrance of the Bonham Exchange in downtown San Antonio, on Thursday, June 16, 2016. The gay nightclub is increasing its security ... more

Photo: Brittany Greeson /San Antonio Express-News

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Patrons watch a drag show pageant at the Bonham Exchange in downtown San Antonio, on Thursday, June 16, 2016. The gay nightclub is increasing its security in the wake of mass shooting in Orlando last weekend.

Patrons watch a drag show pageant at the Bonham Exchange in downtown San Antonio, on Thursday, June 16, 2016. The gay nightclub is increasing its security in the wake of mass shooting in Orlando last weekend.

Photo: BRITTANY GREESON /San Antonio Express-News

Gay nightclubs up security spending following Orlando shooting

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Local nightclubs that cater to gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender patrons are hiring more armed guards with some upping spending on security by as much as 50 percent in the wake of the June 12 mass shooting in Orlando.

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Bexar County Protective Services LLC, which provides security at several LGBT-friendly bars, including Sparky’s Pub, Knockout, Luther’s Cafe, Heat and the Bonham Exchange, has added more guards at those clubs, said owner David Amrollah.

His officers, who are trained and licensed to carry guns, cost between $100 to $200 a night, he said. Amrollah’s LGBT customers, who spend more than $100,000 on security a year, have increased those budgets by about 50 percent since the shooting, he said.

“They take their security pretty seriously,” he said. “They always have, even prior to this.”

David Mendelson, the general manager of Luther’s Cafe, said both customers and staff were fearful that something similar could happen in San Antonio.

“We definitely saw a decrease in sales after the incident in Orlando,” he said.

He’s hired more of Amrollah’s officers to police the cafe, he said.

“They have people not only in the parking lot but in the establishment and walking around the block,” Mendelson said.

Mendelson said he doesn’t expect the decrease in sales to last long, and predicts people will still continue to frequent the establishment.

“I think people will come back out, if nothing else to support each other and be around other people,” he said.

Police Chief William McManus conducted an impromptu meeting and press conference near downtown with members of San Antonio's LGBT community the day after the shooting to talk about increasing SAPD’s presence near the city’s gay nightclubs and bars.

“Everything that happens from this point on will be a high security alert,” he said at the meeting.

Three SAPD officers showed up at the Bonham Exchange nightclub that night to talk to assistant general manager Lee Haines about increasing their presence in the area. Haines also showed them the layout of the nightclub so they could see where the exits were located.

“They wanted to assure me they’re not here to harass my patrons, they’re here to be a deterrent and protect my patrons and I’m grateful for it,” he said.

Haines said purses and backpacks are already checked at the door when patrons enter the nightclub and a metal detector is used as well. However, after the Orlando shooting, Haines said he is hiring more armed uniformed and undercover guards to patrol the dance club.

“In light of what is happening, I’m going to order more commissioned guards,” he said.

In the 27 years Haines has worked at the Bonham Exchange, he said there’s never been a problem and he has always felt safe. After Orlando, though, things have changed, he said. The Bonham can hold two to three times the number of people that were present at the Pulse Nightclub in Florida.

“That’s a little scary for me,” he said.

Haines isn’t letting fear stop him from running his business though, and he said it didn’t stop his customers this weekend. The club raised more more than $10,000 Friday and Saturday night and plans to donate the money to the families of victims of the Orlando shooting, Haines said. Some people were donating extra money on top of the cover charge, he said.

"We had a wonderful weekend, our Friday and Saturday were very strong," he said. "It was truly a blessing to see it."

Travis Guzardo, a bartender at the Bonham Exchange, said he’s not afraid to work at the nightclub.

“Shootings happen in bars all of the time and not just gay bars,” he said. “You can look on the news and probably see once a week in some city somewhere there’s a shooting. If it’s going to happen, it’s going to happen.”

On Thursday night, Larrydon Berry was sipping a drink at the Bonham Exchange while visiting San Antonio from Dallas. He said he doesn’t think the tragic event in Orlando will have a long-term affect on the attendance at gay bars and nightclubs, and said people should be aware of their surroundings no matter if they’re at a gay bar or a mall.

“Nowadays you have to be proactive, you have to always know your surroundings,” he said. “At any point in time, no matter where you are, whether it’s a mall, a restaurant, a bar — a gay bar — they don’t discriminate. You just have to be cautious of your surroundings.”